Hello! My favourite event of the year happened in Toronto on the weekend.
Nuit Blanche, a night where contemporary art installations are set up throughout the city, by creators from around the world, can be viewed from 7pm on Saturday until 7am on Sunday. The pieces and sites are different every year so you never know what you’ll see until you get there. Since the works are displayed in the dark, they each have some sort of light element incorporated.
This was the 18th year the city has hosted this wonderful festival (minus the time during the pandemic) and I’ve been to nearly every one. I’ve missed it twice, on cold rainy nights when my cozy bed was simply too alluring, and I regretted sleeping through it both times.
I’m a night owl and, aside from seeing the art, I so enjoy setting the alarm clock for 1:30 am and going out for a walk to the “darker” parts of town, where one wouldn’t normally go in the middle of the night. My husband Nick is a morning person so, while the late night aspect doesn’t appeal to him as much, he’s a champ and usually comes along.
There were several regions to choose from but we stayed close to home, going down to the waterfront. We began by walking to the foot of Bathurst Street, and then going east toward Spadina. On our way home we went through Stackt Market. The weather was absolutely perfect for it.
Here are my photos, posted in the order they were taken. I can’t provide details on each of the artworks because the city has already updated its website and I can’t find it but you’ll be able to see what we saw through these pictures.
↑ Billy Bishop Airport, seen from Ireland Park. It was quite far away but we could see a large moving projection on the side of the building. ↑
↑ The historic grain silos were lit up with projected images (see more photos below) ↑
↑ This is one of two signs placed far apart, that appeared to be having a conversation with one another. ↑
↑ In Toronto Music Garden, previously written about in this post. It was dark and spooky in there, but also very beautiful. ↑
↑ We came upon this neat sight, the domed open gazebo had a series of crystal mobiles hanging it it. It was about 3:30 in the morning at this point and there were quite a few people admiring the art. ↑
↑ Looking westward. ↑
↑ At The Wave Deck, at the foot of Spadina. There is a protected habitat under it for the water creatures that have lived and bred there forever. These sculptures represented a species that quietly went extinct without people knowing they were there and that it was happening. There was a sound element to this exhibit, including an ambient sound musician situated across the street and quite far away. It was really neat (although my photo doesn’t do it justice!). See photos of this area in the daylight in this post. ↑
↑ Heading back north up Bathurst Street, crossing the historic bridge. I wrote all about this bridge and its long history in this post. ↑
↑ Stopping in at Stackt Market. I love this area, which is made of a series of shipping containers. It was originally meant to be temporary but they had their lease extended this past summer because it has become such a popular destination for people living in this part of the city. I go quite often and bring all of my friends to come to visit, to have a look. Some of the vendors and the brewery have been there since the beginning but many of the shops and galleries are regularly changing. There are interesting seating areas throughout, providing outdoor space for local condo dwellers to socialize. A good place, in deed. See photos in the daytime in this post and this one. ↑
↑ This exhibit was absolutely beautiful. The mirrored balloon shapes were twirling, casting a pastel coloured twinkling light all about. ↑
↑ This sculpture of an angler fish was huge, like 4 times the height of a man. There was fog coming from its mouth and the disco ball on its top fin was twirling and casting light beams. Really cool. ↑
↑ I believe this installation has become permanent after last year’s Nuit Blanche, when we were at Stackt Market but somehow missed this piece. See what we did see, though, in this post. ↑
↑ Inside a wooden shed-like structure where small groups of people can gather. There are a series of these, like the huts that used to be on beaches in the ‘30s and ‘40s. ↑
From here, we went home, arriving at around 5am. Sunday was a bit of a write-off as it usually is after Nuit Blanche, but we were happy.
Thanks for visiting,
Loulou xo
